Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

6

I'm really not feeling the 'boundless energy' some people claim to have on a Paleo diet. Quite the contrary; some days I haven't even got the energy to sit up straight or bend over to pick things up. I'm also quite moody. I keep a diary on how I feel, what I eat etc. Some days are better than others I haven't found any connections so far. I have noticed I generally feel better in the evenings. Some info about me:

Paleo for 1+ year
Goal is fat loss
6 ft, 187 lbs
Sleep 7-9 hrs in pitch black room
3 x week strength training: SL5x5 (fasted in the mornings)
not much sprinting yet
no supplements
grass-fed beef, free range lamb/pork/chicken, Kerrygold butter, Omega3 eggs, herring, farmed salmon, sardines couple times a week
I eat once or twice a day as per PaNu (usually dinner and occasional midday snack or breakfast), high fat, low carb, ketogenic.
40mins bike ride a day + 15-30 min of walking after dinner
Desk job which I spend most of the time standing or strolling around.

I'm very strict paleo for the most part, except for 'commercial' heavy cream and occasionally creme fraiche. The last couple of months have been 2-3 weeks very strict paleo, then I binge on CRAP... or just eat WAY to much paleo foods. I don't know why... Perhaps because I calorie restrict to much? Am I tired because of a lack of calories? Ketogenic diets are supposed to give you ALOT of energy while on a caloric deficit, right? According to some answers found here: http://paleohacks.com/questions/22505/how-to-start-a-ketogenic-diet#axzz1Olyxdn92

Am I just not giving my body enough time to re-adapt to VLC / Keto (after binging...)? I don't plan on making the binging a habit... but it just happened to turn out that way; family parties etc.. I figure I'm pretty keto adapted.. not sure how long it takes to fight off any hypoglycemia after a high carb session even though I'm VLC most of the time?

Or should I just introduce more carbs? Are there any other things that might effect my energy so drasticly? I know some wise guy said that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is insanity but I have had alot of success with a ketogenic diet in the past. I might eat some PWO carbs if this goes on. But I want that 'keto-super-energy-lack-of-apitite-ultimate-fatloss' thing to kick in! I don't realy track any calories, I do check with ketostix pretty much every day.

I have experimented with supplements in the past (Vit D, n3, Mg mostly) but haven't noticed a significant difference. There have been alot of questions regarding fatigue, lack of motivation etc and I know it will probably come down to me experimenting with carbs/meals/sleep/supps etc. But the way I feel now my days are worthless and I can't do anything productive, and I need to! So if anyone has any ideas please let me know!

Thanks in advance.

flag	asked Jun 9 2011 at 14:55 Daniel 233●3●10

	I want to thank everybody very much for their time to reply. The last couple of days I've been eating alot more fat and my mood in particular has skyrocketed! Energy levels have been much better but I hope they improve even more. I'm currently in week 2 of StrongLifts so it's not very intensive yet. I also forgot to mention my BF is around 18% at the moment. I was thinking as long as I'm in ketosis I must be getting enough fat, but I was so wrong.. Thanks again! – Daniel Jun 12 2011 at 7:40
	So what did your diet change to in the end and have you stuck to it? – OmNomBacon Feb 18 at 23:38

L. Peltier · Accepted Answer · 2011-06-09 16:30:24Z UTC

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Every time I hear this, I wonder if the person is eating enough fat. You don't mention cooking with coconut oil and how much butter do you consume daily? What CUTS of meat are you consuming? The fattier the better. I don't count calories and don't supplement. I have been able to maintain 6%-8% BF for quite some time and have only recently incorporated sweet potatoes once every 7 days PWO. I lost over 110lbs on ZC Paleo in less than one year and always have boundless energy. IMO, strength training should be done once every 3-4 days. I have done this for years with most favorable results. My prescription....reduce training frequency and EAT MORE FAT! Best of luck and best of health!

answered Jun 9 2011 at 16:30

L. Peltier

2

My experience going zero-carb was exactly this. The first six months I ate gobs of fat. I put butter on everything, chewed the fat off the bones of my steaks, got the fattiest cuts I could find of everything. As I lost size, my appetite decreased and so did my fat intake -- just naturally, not consciously -- but my energy never flagged. And iirc, both Stefansson and Schwatka talk about the switchover period being shorter for the men who ate the fatty meat, even though it smelled and tasted awful to their unaccustomed palates. – Rose Jun 9 2011 at 17:16

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I don't understand why this answer was down-voted. It may not be the solution for everyone, but it's certainly worked for at least two people here, and by anecdotal reports, many others. – Rose Jun 9 2011 at 17:52

2

Ditto, and ditto. Many people who go 'paleo' shift to all the right foods (and Daniel's menu sounds fantastic) but not enough of it, and especially not enough fat, even if - and especially if - the goal is weight loss. Our 'low fat' culture is so internalized that it's HARD to eat that spoonful of butter the first few times! But every time I add more sat fat to my diet I lose a little more weight (I've said this before, but I think it's important). Fat adds energy not weight. – CaveRat Jun 9 2011 at 18:07

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I'll get to test my own suggestion - I just last night ate almost a CUP of beef tallow I had rendered the night before! I only meant to have a little with my burger but it was oh so good and I kept scraping little spoonfulls of it... 8 hours isn't a real test but this AM I'm a full pound lighter than usual. I do feel slightly hung over though... As long as I don't die I'll be satisfied with the result ;-) – CaveRat Jun 10 2011 at 13:32

sherpamelissa · Answer 2 · 2011-06-09 15:12:11Z UTC

Everything you are doing sounds wonderful, but it is obviously not working for you.

Personally, I would try to add more carbs. You may gain a little bit of weight while experimenting, but you may not. What I would suggest is adding about 50g of starchy carbs per day just to see what happens. You are a pretty decent size guy, so you should be able to handle that. Give it two weeks and see if it helps, but honestly, I would expect results pretty immediately. If it makes the binging worse, which is a possibility, then you may need to look for a different option.

Vrimj · Answer 3 · 2011-06-09 16:06:25Z UTC

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I know supplements are not supported by standard paleo, but I find that unless I take additional B complex I drag like a parachute. If it works, it works within an hour or two.

answered Jun 9 2011 at 16:06

Vrimj
6,619●5●21

	I've really been enjoying your responses Vrimj, I'm glad you've been around more lately! – sherpamelissa Jun 9 2011 at 16:25
	Thank you Melissa, that really means a lot to me :) – Vrimj Jun 9 2011 at 16:41

miked · Answer 4 · 2011-06-09 15:20:12Z UTC

I had a post earlier this week here about the futility of counting calories (which goes into the futility of calorie restriction) - http://paleohacks.com/questions/39937/maintenance-calories-calories-added-for-a-workout/42843#42843 So don't worry about calorie restriction, just eat until your satisfied, food quality is more important. Not cheating (with non-paelo foods) is just as important.

Mike Eades has a good topic on becoming ketoadjusted, these two are good - http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/low-carb-library/why-we-get-fat/ and http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/ketones-and-ketosis/tips-tricks-for-starting-or-restarting-low-carb-pt-i/ sherpamelissa is also right, you need to experiment (within a reasonable range - no binging!) on how many carbs you really need to feel good. I feel great on a low carb diet, though it did take me nearly a month to ketoadapt. Some people need a few more carbs, play with it and see how it works.

SnowDog · Answer 5 · 2011-06-09 17:31:11Z UTC

0

You may have an underactive thyroid.

answered Jun 9 2011 at 17:31

SnowDog
240●1●5

	How can I diagnose an underactive thyroid myself? Everywhere spoken about energy I stumble about a recommendation mentioning a thyroid problem. It makes me wonder. – mephju Jun 9 2011 at 18:08
	Agree. Always good to keep track of thyroid levels and not just TSH but T3 and T4 too. People can spend years trying to fight a condition that's hormonal but thinking it's just diet and/or character. And if they are off don't just do the standard course of synthetic hormone but do a ton of research - mainstream doctors are terrible at dealing with thyroid issues. – CaveRat Jun 9 2011 at 18:12
	@mephju ask your doctor for a more complete thyroid panel - T3 and T4 and also TPO (which tests for autoimmune conditions). There are others but that's a good start. – CaveRat Jun 9 2011 at 18:14

aggromonk · Answer 6 · 2011-06-09 18:21:02Z UTC

I had issues similar to yours when I went into full Ketogenic mode. I was running, lifting and cycling. Here is what I did that helped. I took protein suppliments, B complex and ate more oily and fatty foods hours before working out. Also I didn't Cycle and lift on the same day, I did life and run. I usually took a pre and post work out protein supplement. Although supplements are not "Paleo" I think I might have been shy on my ratio Body weight to protein. I'm 6'2" 177 and I try to consume 180g of protein a day in the form of foods and supplements. I came to the conclusion that when hit a level under 12% Body Fat, that I wasn't getting enough food. You might try eating an extra meal and see if that helps or more veggies.

Fat loss and energy levels

6 Answers